Swooping down onto the battlefield, Antroz landed a short distance from where the Sand Lord and Velika stood. "Sand Lord! Thank you for coming to Xia's aid."

"Save your gratitude until we have seized victory, Makuta," the Sand Lord said.

Not far away, a group of Vorox were battling a combined drone. Antroz teleported behind the machine and ran it through, melting its insides with her Plasma powers. Quickly counting how many drones were left, she said, "It seems we're nearly there...and you two are holding Velika off?"

"As best we can," Bitil said. "This latest vessel of his...it's no small task to damage it. We've been able to contain him, but it's not a permanent-"

He and the Sand Lord both grunted. Antroz dispatched another drone, asking, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Blast," Bitil said. "How was he able to-gah!"

The sand began to shift. Antroz focused her stasis field powers in that direction, hoping it would tilt the scales in their favor, but all she could do was slow the form she felt rising towards the surface.

"It's no good," the Sand Lord said. "Both of you, release your hold."

"What?!" Bitil said. "How is that-"

"I have a plan, but your stasis fields are in the way! Hurry!"

Hesitantly, the two Makuta complied. The Sand Lord made some vague gesture, but before either could ask, Velika's form began to emerge, sand spilling off of him and the platform of Shadow energy he was using to lift himself. Stopping only once he hovered above their heads, Velika said, "Your efforts are for naught. Accept your fate, and you may yet die with some iota of dignity."

"And what do you know of dignity?" Bitil said. "You won't even show your face in combat, you coward."

Velika's chest opened, pouring out another torrent of energy. Bitil and the others scattered to evade it. Hands crackling with Shadow, Velika said, "Watch your tongue, child. Every insult you aim at me buys greater torment for your Rahkshi."

Bitil growled, barely able to quiet his urge to retaliate. Velika fired a volley of Shadow bolts, keeping his foes on the defensive, though Antroz managed to regroup with the Sand Lord amidst this chaos. "You said you had a plan?"

"And I am carrying it out," the Sand Lord said. "I need only time. The more I can focus, the less time I will need."

"So Bitil and I will have to draw his attention, then. May I at least ask what this plan is?"

"Ask if you wish, but I shan't answer. In situations such as these, a plan shared is a plan doomed to fail."

Antroz reluctantly agreed. Teleporting to Bitil's side, she briefly explained the situation to him, and then the two of them set their sights on Velika. Antroz teleported next to the Great Being and swung her blade, leaving only a mild scuff on his armor. Velika swiped at her, only just missing, and Bitil used the chance to get in close and activate his Kanohi. Calling on the raw strength of a Tahtorak, he grabbed Velika and pulled him overhead before slamming him face-first into the ground. Velika tried to shoot him as he stepped back, but Antroz was able to capture the bolt in a small stasis field until her ally was clear.

"Seems we neglected to program you Makuta to know when to give up!" Velika said. At a swing of his arm, powerful shadows tore a trench into the sand, Antroz and Bitil saved from the attack by their Dodge powers. "But then, I know we programmed you to be loyal, and you still managed to fail there!"

"The failure is not ours, Velika," Antroz said. "The Great Beings have shown they do not deserve loyalty! Bemoan your fate if you wish, but know that you have earned it!"

Velika lashed out. Antroz turned invulnerable to block him, and held him still while Bitil counterattacked, the edges of his armor glowing white-hot as he channeled the Rock Lion. Unscathed, Velika sent them both flying with a burst of Shadow; as he moved to chase them, however, he heard a crunching sound come from his elbow, and paused to examine it. Antroz blinked into existence above him, amplifying gravity as she swung down and managing to push Velika a few inches into the sand before he punched her back. Bitil tried to repel their foe with a Power Scream, but Velika simply walked straight through into the devastating river of sound.

"So arrogant," Velika said as the plates on his chest began to move. "Why did we make you Makuta so blasphemously arrogant?"

Bitil chuckled. "Something we inherited, I suppose."

He took flight as Velika fired. When the laser ended, a small spark leapt from the barrel, and its covering moved back into place very slowly. Not understanding, nor willing to give Velika a chance to figure it out, Antroz molded a sphere of sonic waves around him, rattling his body like a twig in a typhoon. She had to abandon her attack to dodge a Shadow bolt, but Bitil leapt in immediately, calling vines up from the sand to restrain Velika. It took the Great Being seconds to break free. He rushed forward, but after two steps he stumbled. The Makuta moved to capitalize on this, but were held at bay by a dome of shadows around their enemy.

"What nonsense is this?" Velika said. He glanced over his body and then looked up, spotting the Sand Lord standing in the distance. The realization of what was happening hit him instantly. "...How dare you…"

Antroz and Bitil circled Velika in opposite directions. Bitil glanced aside, seeing that the Vorox had subdued all but a handful of the drones, and then spotted movement near Xia's wall. Hewkii and Neton came into view. "What are they doing here?"

Velika seized his chance. He lunged, fist cloaked in Shadow, and punched a hole through Bitil's shoulder, before swinging him around and throwing him into Antroz as she charged. A flurry of Shadow bolts was then turned upon the Sand Lord, her body slowly losing its cohesion under the assault.

"I know what you're doing," Velika said. "You managed to get some sand inside my armor, didn't you? But how difficult is it for even you to discreetly manipulate but a few fine particles? I imagine it takes all of your focus!"

Antroz tackled Velika, cutting his attack short. Velika prepared to retaliate, but found his entire body locking up, whirs and clunks spewing from its components in abundance.

"I've no further need for discretion," the Sand Lord said. "I've figured out the gist of how this body works, and have navigated sand to all of its most vital components. In a few seconds, those mechanisms will be broken down entirely."

Velika snarled, managing to turn himself towards Xia. "Wretched creature...know that when I find you...your punishment shall be excruciating!"

Energy shone within his chest. The covering was unable to move, but he fired anyway. The beam tore open its casing and lanced across the sand, bearing down on the opening in the city's wall where Hewkii and Neton stood watching. Bitil shrieked. The Toa and Rahkshi saw the attack coming and just barely flung themselves to safety...for the most part. Neton wailed as he collapsed on the ground, one leg seared clean off. Bitil rushed to his side, while Antroz watched as the Sand Lord finished breaking Velika's body, waiting a few moments to be sure the empty shell wouldn't rise again or explode. Once satisfied, she saw to the remaining drones and went to help Neton. As she left, she noticed that, despite her victory, the Sand Lord had an oddly somber air about her.


Zaekura looked up as Bitil entered the room. She stood, but said nothing.

"Neton is alright," he said. "The pain has subsided, and he is resting easy."

Zaekura let out a long breath. "Good."

"Unfortunately, even Surja can't regrow his leg. We'll outfit him with a prosthetic once he's ready, but it could take him a while to master use of it."

"Want me to try making one? I mean, I haven't tried before, but…"

Bitil shook his head. "Thank you, Lady Zaekura, but that won't be necessary. There are already several highly skilled prosthetic crafters here in Xia-I'll see what each of them has to offer."

The door opened again, this time letting in Krika and the Sand Lord. The latter paused for a moment before approaching Bitil, saying, "Makuta Bitil...I want to apologize. If I had managed to stop Velika sooner, then I could have stopped him from harming your son."

Bitil looked her in the eye. "You did all you could, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then you've nothing to apologize for. Moreover, Neton is perfectly fine. I thank you for your concern, but please, do not feel responsible for his wounds. This was done by Velika...and if we did not have your help, I do not know that we would have prevailed against him." Bitil smiled. "Be proud, Sand Lord. Only a few have managed to strike at the Great Beings as you now have."

She took a moment to absorb this, then chuckled. "...Indeed. Thank you, Makuta."

Krika made his way over to Zaekura, handing her the dagger she had crafted. "Works like a charm. A good thing, too, now that the enemy has two Element Lords of their own."

The Sand Lord turned, eyes immediately fixing on the blade. "...How long have you planned to make such a thing?"

"Huh? Oh!" Zaekura gently set the dagger down. "It wasn't exactly a plan, really. I've been learning what I can from the lab at Bitil's outpost, just trying to understand how elemental powers work. I was thinking about the possibility of disabling our enemies' powers, but I hadn't even gotten to the drawing board yet-I didn't think I had made enough progress for it to be worth mentioning. Sorry, I probably should have been more upfront once I realized it was possible."

The Sand Lord nodded. "I understand. There has been much to deal with of late."

"Vastus and Tarix will require great consideration going forward," Krika said. "Nora was only barely in time to save Ackar and the others, and Tarix took control of the situation to recover everyone we could have captured. We need to be ready to defend Xia at a moment's notice."

Zaekura reached for the box of equipment she had stored earlier, saying, "No doubt. Good thing our friend Nuparu gave us something that should make that a bit easier."

"Good news from the Le-Koronans, I hope?" Bitil asked.

"They need time to discuss things, but we did get a parting gift." Zaekura pulled out a crudely-constructed radio to show the others. "This uses technology similar to Kanoka Blades: it encrypts transmissions using a special circuit made from a Disk of Incomprehension, and then the receiver unscrambles it using a paired circuit made out of a Disk of Translation. Now that we're actually expanding our territory, a safe way to communicate like this is going to be a big help."

"Certainly," Krika said. "That being said, it is possible that the Great Beings could still find a way to break the encryption. We should devise a code for our communiques as an added layer of security, and change it routinely."

"Good point. Give me some time to work with it and make a few more, then we'll work out a code."

The door opened again, allowing Antroz entrance. "Pardon me. I was speaking with Toa Hewkii about the reconstruction. He's optimistic as ever...if a bit distracted."

Bitil nodded. "Is he worried about Neton? They seemed to be getting along quite well."

"That's part of it. He was also saying something about a kolhii tournament taking place in Civitas Magna? But we don't exactly have time to indulge our curiosity over such things."

"Hang on," Krika said. "A kolhii tournament at a time like this? Interesting...and indeed, very distracting. I'll bet the Great Beings are using it to keep public focus off of the war."

"Alright...but what does it matter?"

"Well, Antroz...if kolhii teams from all over are gathering, then would it not be entirely ordinary for the Xian team to participate?"

Zaekura crossed her arms. "Oh, I get it. We make this backfire on them by putting ourselves in the spotlight they provide. But, wait: there's no way they're going to let a team from Xia participate now that we've secured control here."

"Correct," Krika said. "But that doesn't stop our players from joining other teams, if they so desire...and our alliance with Mahri Nui has yet to be made known."

Zaekura grinned. "Oh! Now I really get it. We do need to pay Pridak a visit anyway."

"Hold on," Antroz said. "Any player in such a position would be in great danger. The Great Beings would only care that they're from Xia, and would act accordingly."

Zaekura's smile faded. "Hm. That is a problem."

"Something to think about," Krika said. "I'll at least gather some more information while you examine the radio."

She nodded slowly. Glancing around the room, she said, "We're in a bit of a weird spot right now, but we're holding our own. Sure got a lot farther than I thought we would. We've got plenty of ways to keep this momentum going...let's make the most of them."


"How could you be defeated in such a careless manner?"

"Excuse me? It was your armor that failed to protect my body!"

Seldoa rolled her eyes. Tools floated in a ring around her body, leaving her side occasionally to fulfill a task before instantly returning. "Oh, yes, the armor was the problem. Ignore the fact that the one wearing it couldn't even get inside the city despite having enough firepower to vaporize half a block."

Velika dashed a beaker against the floor. "This is your problem, Seldoa! You think only in the broadest of strokes and never of the finer details!"

From his seat on a nearby lab table, Angonce said, "The way I see it, you're both to blame."

"You were not asked to contribute, Angonce!" Velika said.

"Do you honestly have nothing better to do?" Seldoa said. "We have much work to replace, new plans to make, so it would be most helpful if you would remove the burden of your company from our shoulders."

Angonce shrugged, hopping down from his perch. "Okay, okay, I can see when I'm not wanted. I'll leave the two of you to stew in your failures for a bit, and then we can see if maybe you're feeling any more social."

Velika and Seldoa ignored him, immediately resuming their argument. Angonce exited the lab and started down the hall. A few twists and turns later, Gorast joined him.

"You seem troubled, Gorast," Angonce said. "Something you want to tell me?"

"It's nothing important, sir," Gorast said. After a pause, she continued, "I'm just disappointed in my siblings."

"Hah! Aren't we all? I'm glad we still have you, Gorast: you at least prove that the Makuta aren't an inherently failed design."

Gorast grinned at this.

"I had such high hopes for the others. It's tragic, really. All this over one little Glatorian? And now they're blowing it so far out of proportion-is the society we've built really all that bad? We gave them everything they could have ever wanted: power, employment, the adoration of the masses. We even permanently solved their needs thanks to this gaseous evolution! Yet still, Antroz and the others are unsatisfied."

"Antroz...I hope I get the chance to shred her down to atoms myself."

"Well, if my brilliant colleagues don't beat you to it. Or the Odinans. But anyway."

Angonce stepped through a doorway leading to a narrow control room, one wall transparent to show the cell on the other side. Sitting there was a being the size of a Toa, his armor and unusual mask a strange mix of red and black. He looked up with a start, but upon seeing Angonce, he moved seamlessly from shock to irritation.

"Oh great. Come to talk me to death?"

"No, I'm still working on that particular device," Angonce said. "I was just talking about failure and thought it might be fun to pay you a visit, ah…" He checked a monitor. "Vultraz."

Rolling his eyes, Vultraz said, "Yeah, I get it, I failed. How long are you going to taunt me, your pettiness?"

"Oh no, I didn't so much mean you and your personal failings. I mean you come from a failure of a universe." Angonce shook his head. "That absurd robot plan our counterparts went with...of course it would fail. Everything they made went haywire, failsafes and all! It's embarrassing! And what good are Matoran as labor if they're built so small?"

Vultraz smirked. "Sure, sure. Feel better about yourself now?"

"Hm?"

"I know a little about what's been going on. Whenever one of you 'visits' me, it's the only thing you talk about." He eyed Gorast. "Your Makuta are going rogue, just like in my universe."

Gorast bristled. "We're nothing like those freaks of nature."

"Easy, Gorast, easy," Angonce said.

"Face it: you Great Beings don't have any clue what you're doing in any universe." Vultraz got to his feet, walking closer. "Your plans always fall apart. It just took a little longer in this one. Maybe you should've quit while you were ahead."

Angonce put a hand on his hip. "I'll admit, we have noticed a trend in the other universes. But at least now, we have their mistakes to learn from."

"Yeah? And how's that working out so far?"

"My, aren't you smug for someone locked in a cage."

"I might as well enjoy the suffering of my captors. What do I have to lose?"

The door opened. Instantly, Vultraz's eyes shot wide. Angonce turned to see a broad-shouldered Great Being with thick gloves and a scorched apron, carrying a large hammer in one hand. Flipping up the welding mask he wore, he revealed a square jaw and a terrible burn scar across one side of his face, and he regarded Angonce with a look of calm suspicion. "What're you doing here?"

Angonce grinned as he watched Vultraz shuffle back. "Oh, I was just leaving. Come to conduct another experiment on our guest of honor? I wonder how much more he can take."

"I won't kill him. Not that Heremus would mind if I did. If you're leaving, then leave."

Vultraz was pressed up against the rear wall of his cell now. Stepping around his colleague and back into the hall, Angonce said, "Don't have to tell me twice. Best of luck in your work, Ekimu."


ADDENDUM:

-"Sand rough coarse gets everywhere" you know.

-Honestly the tournament was originally just meant to be brought up in that one scene, but then I realized flagging such a thing with no payoff is bad writing and there's actually a lot of potential in this idea. I swear, I'm not intentionally throwing in random shounen tropes.

-It's been forever since I've even alluded to Vultraz, which is weird since he's actually the thing that set all of this in motion. I want to do more with him. Kind of hard when he's been reduced to a lab experiment, but...I'm working on it.

-I wanted to expand the roster of Great Beings a little more (still don't think I'm going to come anywhere near that hard limit of 20), but it can be a bit difficult to find proper inspiration. Also, all along I've wanted to have a few G2 references: both G2 and the Melding universe mirror the G1 prime universe in different ways, so I think I have enough wiggle room to reimagine those characters and concepts in this setting to show G2 some much-needed love. Of course, a lot of G2's elements are shared with G1, leaving a fairly limited pool of specific G2 references, so I haven't really found a good opportunity until now. It's been a while in real time, but a few chapters back Mutran was seen with a mask imbued with the power of Fire, and that was meant to hint at Ekimu being one of the Great Beings. He's easily the most prominent G2-original character, and since I established early that Toa of Light don't exist in this universe (and have a good amount of Makuta already), this seemed like the best place for him. I'm excited to flesh out this iteration of the character in upcoming events!